hey everyone! time for another northern california post from our field reporter, righteous fist! you may remember his last soul food find in eureka, and today he’s bloggin’ breakfast foods from arcata. enjoy!

On our way out of Eureka we made a stop for breakfast at Wildflower Cafe in Arcata. They serve eggs and dairy there but also have a good number of vegan choices. Since having so many options to choose from was a rare occurrence on this road trip, I opted for both a savory AND sweet dish.

Scrambled Tofu - Locally made tofu, sauteed with ginger, garlic, onions, and a wonderful blend of herbs and spices. Served with homefries. $8

UPDATE 9/17: as of sunday 9/20, THE VEGAN BRUNCH IS BACK!!! please go support flore cafe! we don’t want to see this brunch go away again!

UPDATE: unfortunately, due to slow business, the all-you-can-eat vegan brunch at flore cafe has been discontinued. you should still get over there ASAP though, as most of the brunch items are available on their menu.

so if you read this blog, you are probably already aware of the fact that a vegetarian restaurant called flore cafe now occupies the former space of the best vegan eatery in town (the vegan spot) and has recently started offering an awesome all-you-can-eat vegan brunch every sunday from 10am to 3pm for just 10 bucks. that’s right, probably the best vegan brunch deal ever conceived of, flore cafe provides quality vegan food in cafeteria-sized trays every week for a fixed price, and you can go up and get as many servings as you like. total recipe for over-indulgence disaster.

however this weekend, flore cafe started offering a different menu for the all you can eat brunch. today the tofu scramble and waffles were replaced with vegetable frittata and grilled “chicken” patties. both dishes were tasty, no doubt…but i can’t lie, i REALLY missed the tofu scramble.

the vegan menu this weekend consisted of french toast with berry compote, vegetable frittata, veggie bacon, grilled “chicken” patties, roasted breakfast potatoes, bread & jam along with coffee & orange juice. the french toast was delicious (as usual) and the new berry compote really added and extra wow factor, if you enjoy eating sweets for breakfast. i’d say this was the highlight of the meal, along with the “chicken” patties which are pictured above to the top left and below in the bottom center.

flore cafe vegan all you can eat brunch for $10

the “chicken” patties didn’t really taste like chicken at all, but thick seitany sausages instead. they were absolutely delicious, albeit a bit cold, and i seriously couldn’t stop going back for more. the vegetarian frittata was a bit bland and, like the breakfast potatoes, full of bell peppers…which i HATE. 🙁 bell peppers aside, the frittata just wasn’t as good as flore cafe’s tofu scramble. i don’t think i would ever spoon the frittata onto my plate again as long as other stuff was available, i’d rather just fill up on the awesome bacon and “chicken” patties.

i don’t know if this menu change is permanent for the all-you-can-eat sunday brunch at flore cafe, or if they were just trying out some new things. what i do know though, is i didn’t like it quite as much as the old menu that i’m used to. the seitan “chicken” patties and fruit compote were delicious, but they didn’t fill the hole that was left by the absence of the tofu scramble.

still though, in the end it is unlimited awesome vegan food at a fixed price and you just can’t beat that. if you haven’t been, definitely head out to flore cafe and get the sunday brunch as soon as you can. maybe put in a good word to your server about the tofu scramble if you are lucky enough to get it. 😉 believe you me, it’s the best thing they offer.

UPDATE 9/17: as of sunday 9/20, THE VEGAN BRUNCH IS BACK!!! please go support flore cafe! we don’t want to see this brunch go away again!

UPDATE: unfortunately, due to slow business, the all-you-can-eat vegan brunch at flore cafe has been discontinued. you should still get over there ASAP though, as most of the brunch items are available on their menu.

in breaking los angeles vegan news, flore cafe in silverlake is now offering an all you can eat vegan brunch for just ten bucks every sunday from 10am to 3pm. they kicked it off today with an epic breakfast feast, and i was there to enjoy it.

flore cafe all you can eat vegan brunch for $10. pictured is the french toast, tofu scramble and vegan bacon.

flore cafe has sparked a bit of controversy on this site in the past, mainly because it occupies the same space as our all-time favorite restaurant, the vegan spot, which no longer exists. the only major grouse i’ve had with flore cafe in months prior is in regards to its decision to sell eggs in what used to be an entirely vegan restaurant…and also it’s owned by the same person who owns flore, an entirely vegan restaurant down the street. well, that issue doesn’t even come into play for the sunday brunch. everything offered is 100% vegan, and there wasn’t a single egg or blob of cream cheese in sight. pure, animal-free, sweet & savory goodness.

my husband and i showed up mid-morning, and the place was already buzzin’ with people. we piled our plates high with tofu scramble, french toast and breakfast potatoes…and even ended up going back for seconds! the orange juice and coffee were flowing like water, and we didn’t want for anything. tons of our friends went throughout the day, and all of them said the crowd was hoppin’ and the food was excellent.

two vegans get their fill of breakfast, orange juice, and coffee on sunday morning.

i could really get used to a totally vegan all you can eat brunch in los angeles. flore cafe has stepped it up a notch and everyone should check out this sunday meal.

while i still miss the vegan spot more than ever, it’s great that flore cafe has decided to leave out the eggs and offer a cruelty-free brunch for us los angeles vegans. go and eat it up!

all you can eat! vegan brunch! flore cafe! sunset blvd. and descanso! yeah!

check out the trays and trays of food, lined up right next to the health code department grade A on the window. flore cafe did raise a question today though (and lex of vegan-la also noticed) when they didn’t provide new, clean plates for each trip up to the buffet line. that could result in contamination and raise some eyebrows with the health inspector. i myself, go with the flow, though. that didn’t stop me!

i filled my plate with the mainly the tofu scramble and vegan bacon, both of which were out of this world! i’ve written about flore cafe’s tofu scramble before, and this stuff was just as good. the chunks of tofu were thick, not all mushed up like in most scrambles, and it came with a generous helping of spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. the vegan bacon was really small and crispy, and had an absolutely delicious smokey taste. the fact that you can take all you want of this for ten bucks is total highway robbery.

i also got a slice of flore cafe’s french toast. i’ve never had any kind of vegan french toast before, but i can tell you this was better than the real thing. there was a thin slice of really nicely fried bread beneath an absolutely delicious cinnamon batter. i topped it all off with some maple syrup…total perfect decadence!

i asked for a vegan twinkie when i purchased my plate, but the dude behind the counter told me that they no longer stock them. total bummer. so no more vegan spot, no more vegan twinkies. wtf! i’m just so glad that flore cafe came up with the all you can eat brunch…it’s definitely something that will keep me coming back for more, no matter how disappointed i may be when my favorite stuff drops off the menu. and for all you twinkie stalkers, i hear from sources that they are available at native foods.

bottom line is, los angeles vegans, the flore cafe brunch is truly incredible! head over there on sundays from 10am to 3pm to get your share of all-you-can-eat 100% vegan awesomeness. you won’t be sorry, and the food is fuckin’ great.